Best SuitMaker for Every Body Type

October 19, 2016

Not all Suits are Squares. That’s the draw of Bindle & Keep, which specializes in working with LGBTQ customers to create customized suits that fit and flatter all body types. When Daniel Friedman started Bindle & Keep in 2011, it was mainly a traditional bespoke suitmaker, and the clients were primarily cisgender male bros. But that changed when Rae Tutera, who identifies as transmasculine, saw downtown drag king Murray Hill sporting a Bindle & Keep creation. Tutera began working with Friedman, and the pair ended up finding a niche. Cut to 2016: While befuddled male grooms and hip banker bros are still making appointments for fittings, the company has become the go-to for customers who don’t necessarily feel comfortable walking into Brooks Brothers and discussing how testosterone shots will change the way their jacket fits. This past year, Bindle & Keep became the subject of the Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner–produced HBO documentary Suited, which celebrated the sensitivity the company brings to a process that, for many gender-nonconforming or trans clients, previously entailed a high level of angst. An appointment at the Clinton Hill studio, where pronouns are never assumed and the female and male dressmaker dummies feel conspicuously gendered, veers between a therapy session vibe and a discussion of details like angled versus straight pockets.